The Yahoo-Microsoft search pact is extremely important for Microsoft.
Although the software giant doesn't own Yahoo, it finally can control the Web
company's search service, effectively combining its own market share with
Yahoo's. That's extremely important. The only reason Microsoft is competing in
search is to capitalize on the highly profitable Web advertising space. The
more market share, the better its chances of generating a big profit on Web
advertising. The Yahoo deal will only help.
7. The extras

Microsoft currently offers a wide array of extra search features that
compete quite well with Google's. Users can search for images, news, videos and
more with Bing. One of its finer offerings is Bing Maps, which in my experience
bests Google Maps on several fronts. And although some view it as more of a
gimmick than a valuable search option, Bing's Visual Search tool is actually
quite handy. Bing offers some nice extras that could easily attract more users
to the site.
8. Social networking

The Bing platform goes beyond offering search to social networks such as
Facebook. Currently, only Bing displays all Facebook status updates in its
search results. Twitter teets also show up in Bing search results. Admittedly,
Google offers Facebook status updates from Facebook Pages only (an important
distinction) and also displays tweets, but Microsoft
has done a better job of partnering with popular social networks and more
users will likely start noticing this.
9. Don't forget cash

Aside from features and services, Bing has another important resource that
could help it catch up to Google: Microsoft's cash. Microsoft has the financial
resources it needs to take on Google every step of the way. If Google acquires
companies to help it improve search, Microsoft can do the same. If Google
spends money to improve its search, Microsoft can follow suit. Dollar for dollar,
Google has no advantage over Microsoft.
10. Microsoft's focus

Microsoft's success in gaining some ground on Google can be directly
attributed to the company's renewed sense of urgency. Gone are the days when
Microsoft would rake in the cash without worrying about competition. Today,
Microsoft is extremely worried about its future. It's concerned that Google
will corner the Web market and leave Microsoft with scraps. Because of that,
Microsoft has done a much better job of delivering viable Web experiences. And
its market share is growing because of it.

Don Reisinger is a freelance technology columnist. He started writing about technology for Ziff-Davis' Gearlog.com. Since then, he has written extremely popular columns for CNET.com, Computerworld, InformationWeek, and others. He has appeared numerous times on national television to share his expertise with viewers. You can follow his every move at http://twitter.com/donreisinger.